Bush's Off-year Election
Virginia's gubernatorial race is a test of the president's popularity.
Fred Barnes
Richmond
HISTORY IS NOT on Jerry Kilgore's side. The Virginia governor's election comes one year after a presidential election. And in the last seven races in Virginia, going back to 1977, the candidate of the party in the White House has lost. Kilgore, the former state attorney general, is, like Bush, a Republican. Still, Virginia is a Republican state (both U.S. senators, 8 of 11 House members, solid majorities in the state senate and house). But the governor's race is different. It's partly a referendum on the president.

























